How I started cooking

Posted on 6 September 2010

By some massive stroke of good fortune, I get to combine my two greatest loves – food and travel – in my cooking travel series, Cooked.

My journey started almost 30 years ago, making pancakes with my late Dutch grandmother when I was seven (I still have the pan and it travels with me wherever I go). I grew up outdoors and spent almost every weekend or school holiday on the Breede River and in Transkei. My real fascination started with fish – you catch one, you have to know what to do with it. It’s easy enough to flip it into the boat, but then what? There were some experiments along the way – and not particularly good ones – but out of them came methods that worked.

I began to understand food in my late twenties. It’s a kind of alchemy, plus a sense of timing and combinations. Once you get the basic methods right, the rest is easy. In all fairness, I still make mistakes – but food, like life, is about experimenting and trying new things. It’s part of the process, a richly rewarding one to which everyone relates.

Since 2003, I’ve been travelling Southern Africa making food for friends and TV cameras. Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot about cooking in the outdoors and I’d like to share some of that with you. Hopefully this will inspire you to pack a camping box and discover an African kitchen under baobabs and blue skies.

Eat, drink and be merry!

For more recipes and outdoor cooking ideas, read Justin Bonello’s Cooked in Africa: A cooking journey through Southern Africa.

Buy the book now

Cooked in Africa: A Cooking Journey Through Southern Africa





yoast-primary -
tcat - Food & Drink
tcat_slug - food
tcat2 -
tcat2_slug -
tcat_final - food-and-drink